Yonatan Shenkar
Yonatan Shenkar was born in 1985 in Israel. He began studying jazz piano at the late age of 13, and was admitted to the jazz department of “Telma-Yeliin” high-school of the arts the following year. While there, he dealt with playing and writing for different ensembles, including writing full blown big-band arrangements. After 5 years of service as an air force officer in the IDF, he continued
to study jazz composition for one year in “RIMON” school of jazz. Following that, Yonatan went on to accomplish B.Mus. and M.Mus. degrees in composition and conducting at the Jerusalem academy of music and dance (2010-2015). During that time, he studied under prof. Heim Permont, Mr. Ilan Mochiach and mainly under Mr. Josef Bardanshvili , as well as orchestral conducting under Mr. Yavgeny Tzirlin. During these years, Yonatan participated in various master-classes including master-classes with Mr. Thomas Adess,
Mrs. Chaya Czernowin, Mr. Josef Bardanashvili, professor Tzvi Avni and more. In addition, Yonatan worked as an assistant
to Mr. Ilan Mochiach in different orchestral projects including the Israeli Philharmonic orchestra and Rishon Lezion Symphony orchestra.
Yonatan’s Symphonic composition “0/1″ was chosen to be recorded on vol.8 of Ablaze record company “Orchestral Masters” edition By the Royal Scottish national orchestra. The same composition (“0/1″) was performed by the Taiwan national symphony orchestra at the opening night of the 35th Asian Composers League festival. Yonatan was the Winner of 3rd International recorder competition “TARF”, 2020 Israel Tel-Aviv.
Winner of the America-Israel Cultural Foundation (AICF) scholarship for composition for 2014. Yonatan’s compositions, arrangements and orchestrations were performed by many orchestras and ensembles in Israel such as the Rishon Letzion symphony orchestra, Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, Haifa symphony orchestra, the Revolution orchestra, Beer-Sheva Sinfonietta, Raanana Symphonette, Ensemble Meitar, and more. Yonatan is a multi-disciplinary musician, writing music for the concert hall, for cinema and theater, jazz ensembles and different combinations. In 2014 Yonatan Arranged and orchestrated the musical “CHABASA” about life in the Israeli prison, performed by the Israeli Raanana “Symphonette” orchestra in 2014.
Yonatan is also a busy music educator, teaching composition, Orchestration and jazz harmony and piano in different institutions.
In 2016 Yonatan served as a composition guide (artist in residence) in an international composition workshop in collaboration
with the Lincoln center New-York under Prof. Richard Carrick (2016).